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Chandeleur (known as Candlemas in English) is right around the corner (February 2), and this is a time of year my students really enjoy, because it involves eating! Back in 2021, I shared how we celebrated Chandeleur virtually. In this post, I will share a lot of the same resources I shared in that post but also share information about how I conduct this lesson in person, complete with crêpes that students get to eat in class!
First, students must learn about the holiday and why crêpes are eaten on this day. I use this Nearpod, which includes a Time to Climb.
Partway through the Nearpod, we pause to watch the two videos below:
After we complete the Time to Climb, we look out the window and determine, based on the weather, whether spring is coming soon or not, as per the proverb. Then we watch the video below so students can see how crêpes are made:
Now that students have learned about the holiday, they get a chance to try a crêpe in class. This is all done in one period because we have 60-minute classes, so about 20 minutes is used for the introductory activities, and 40 minutes to eat. I used to have a local crêperie come in and serve the crêpes (click here to read a post about that from 2014), but now I bring in homemade crêpes that parents prepare and help serve. Let me tell you all about how it works:
First, I prepare the crêpes at home (with the help of my amazing mom!). This is the type of crêpe makers I have (not this exact model, but very similar). The crêpes are smaller than a typical 12″ crêpe, but they are perfect for giving students a feel for what a crêpe tastes like. I make enough for each of my students to have one, plus each of my parent volunteers (see below), and a few extras for administrators and members of the local media who often stop in. Plus, inevitably some of the crêpes will break, so a few extra have to be made to account for that. After preparing the crêpes at home, I freeze them and bring them into school in a cooler with ice packs the morning of the event. They are put in bags and labeled with how many are in each bag. Since I have to do this over two days due to our schedule, I only bring in some of the crêpes on the first day, and I bring the rest in the second day. I also bring in spatulas, sugar shakers with powdered sugar, butter (for the griddles [see below]), fillings (see below), and spreaders for the fillings. I have two griddles (which can actually be used to make crêpes with batter, but that’s not what I use them for) which are used to heat up the crêpes. They are similar to this. I have a third griddle that I bring in as back up in case one of them fails (they are over 10 years old, so it’s bound to happen!).
The day before the event, I put the desks into groups of four to make a table, and I put red checkered tablecloths on each “table.” I also put a number on each table. This comes into play later. Students may choose who they sit with.
Students select one student per table to be their waiter. That person gets a checklist from me for the different types of crêpes, and they take the orders from their tables in French. Students must state what kind of crêpe they want in French. Their choices are Nutella, lemon curd, strawberry jam, or plain. I used to make students give me their choice in advance so I could get the right amount of fillings, but now I just know how much to get. The majority of students get Nutella, so I get a lot of that, and a few containers of lemon curd and strawberry jam. Waiters note their table number and tally how many of each crêpe is ordered, including their own preference. Then, they bring the tally sheet up to the front of the room and get enough napkins, forks, and knives for their table and bring them back. After that, their job is done, and they wait patiently for their crêpes along with the rest of their table.
I typically invite three parent volunteers for each class. If a class is small, I might only invite two. At Open House each fall, I have a parent volunteer sign up. I draw from that list first, and if I can’t find enough parents from that list, I reach out to other parents. At the front of the room, two parents are heating up crêpes on the griddles. I pull several bags of crêpes out of the cooler ahead of time to let them thaw a little. The parents are looking at the tally sheets and putting the appropriate fillings in the crêpes and adding a little bit of powdered sugar on top. They will then hand off the crêpes to me or another parent and tell us what table they are for and we deliver them.
Inevitably, some tables finish eating their crêpes before others have even been served. I tell students that in France and other French-speaking countries, eating is seen as a time to socialize, and it’s ok if they have some downtime.
At the end of class, the students all line up and try their hand at flipping a crêpe, a Chandeleur tradition that is said to promote prosperity. They hold a penny in one hand and flip with the other.
Students usually cite this as the highlight of their year in French class. No surprise, since food tends to be a big hit with kids (and adults!). The parent volunteers enjoy it, because the opportunities to come into their child’s classroom dwindle after elementary school.
Do you celebrate Chandeleur in your classroom? What activities do you do?
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